2026-cv-00216

COMPLAINT against SCHEDULE A DEFENDANTS (Filing fee, including Administrative fee, $405, receipt number APAWDC-9347999), filed by T-Grip LLC.

Civil Cover Sheet

Exhibit 1

Exhibit 2

Exhibit 4

Exhibit 5

Exhibit 6

MOTION for Leave to File Documents Under Seal by T-Grip LLC.

Proposed Order

MOTION for Temporary Restraining Order, MOTION to Expedite Discovery by T-Grip LLC.

Proposed Order

BRIEF in Support re [3] Motion for TRO, Motion to Expedite filed by T-Grip LLC.

Declaration of Lawrence Fortin

Declaration of Keaton Smith

MOTION for Alternative Service by T-Grip LLC.

Proposed Order

BRIEF in Support re [5] Motion for Alternative Service filed by T-Grip LLC.

MOTION for Leave to File Excess Pages by T-Grip LLC.

Proposed Order

Disclosure Statement identifying None as corporate parent or other affiliate, declaring citizenship by T-Grip LLC.

NOTICE of Appearance by Keaton David Smith on behalf of T-Grip LLC.

NOTICE of Appearance by Shengmao Mu on behalf of T-Grip LLC.

NOTICE of Appearance by Ryan E. Carreon on behalf of T-Grip LLC.

CLERK'S REQUEST FOR CORRECTIVE ACTION re [1] COMPLAINT. ERROR: Filer must submit AO 121 Report on the Filing or Determination of an Action or appeal Regarding a Copyright. CORRECTION: Filer advised to file the Notice within 7 days. The link to the report can be found under Other Forms at: http://www.uscourts.gov/FormsAndFees/Forms/CourtFormsByCategory.aspx

Magistrate Judge Patricia L. Dodge added.

NOTICE of Appearance by Abby Marie Neu on behalf of T-GRIP LLC.

Judge Mark R. Hornak added.

Magistrate Judge Patricia L. Dodge no longer assigned to case. Assignment made in error.

AO 121 NOTICE by T-GRIP LLC

COPYRIGHT DOCUMENTS ISSUED. Emailed copy of Transmittal Letter, AO 121 Form, Complaint, Exhibits and Docket Sheet to the Register of Copyrights.

COPYRIGHT DOCUMENTS ISSUED. Emailed copy of Transmittal Letter, AO 121 Form, Complaint, Exhibits and Docket Sheet to the Register of Copyrights.

Complaint

Exhibit 1

Exhibit 2

Exhibit 4

Exhibit 5

Exhibit 6

AO121

(Docket Sheet) (dmh)

ORDER GRANTING [2] MOTION for Leave to File Documents Under Seal. DO NOT electronically file the sealed version of the document until you electronically file the redacted version of the document, using the Redacted Document event, unless otherwise ordered by the Court. You are required to serve the sealed document on counsel using traditional service methods. Decision to Unseal Document deferred. Signed by Judge Mark R. Hornak on 2/10/26.

REDACTION to [1] COMPLAINT, Schedule A by T-GRIP LLC.

REDACTION to [1] COMPLAINT, Exhibit 3 by T-GRIP LLC.

SEALED DOCUMENT by T-GRIP LLC.

SEALED EXHIBIT in support of Complaint Schedule A by T-GRIP LLC pursuant to.

SEALED EXHIBIT in support of Complaint Exhibit 3 by T-GRIP LLC pursuant to.

SEALED ORDER re [3] Motion for Temporary Restraining Order. Signed by Judge Mark R. Hornak on 2/11/26.

SEALED ORDER re [5] Motion for Alternative Service. Signed by Judge Mark R. Hornak on 2/11/26.

SEALED ORDER re [7] Motion for Leave to File Excess Pages. Signed by Judge Mark R. Hornak on 2/11/26.

ORDER DIRECTING THE FILING OF A SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT BY THE PLAINTIFF. In consideration of the matters currently before the Court in this proceeding, including the Plaintiff's request for provisional injunctive and declaratory relief and other related submissions, it is ORDERED that not later than 48 hours prior to the commencement of any show cause or other hearing in this case relative to preliminary injunctive relief, Plaintiff shall supplement its filings via a single report filed on the docket and, in furtherance of the relief sought, such submission shall address the following: (1) Whether Plaintiff has previously brought any action, claim or proceeding in any court or tribunal against any named Defendant wherein Plaintiff sought to enforce the involved copyrights/trademarks/patents, identifying the tribunal, type of claim, and case number of any such action and advising the Court as to its current status; (2) For any such action identified in (1), state the number of Defendants currently enjoined by any form of equitable relief for alleged infringement or violation of the interest at issue in this action; and (3) To the extent the Plaintiff seeks or will seek authorization for alternative service of process or other papers, the Plaintiff shall file a statement of position as to the applicability of the reasoning in Smart Study, Co., No. 24-313, 2025 WL 3672740 (2d Cir. Dec. 18, 2025) to such request, and advise the Court how any future Order should proceed so as to conform to applicable law. In the alternative, to the extent that the Plaintiff is not seeking alternative service the Plaintiff shall explicitly so state. Further, in such report, the Plaintiff shall supply the Court with information pertaining to: (a) the aggregate amount of assets frozen pursuant to any Order of this Court; (b) the average dollar amount frozen per defendant; (c) the smallest and largest amounts so frozen, along with the identities of those corresponding defendants; and (d) the identities of any Defendant with cumulative assets frozen of $10,000 or greater, and the corresponding amount. Signed by Judge Mark R. Hornak on 2/11/26. Text-only entry; no PDF document will issue. This text-only entry constitutes the Order of the Court or Notice on the matter.

Surety BOND in the amount of $25000 Receipt Number S-959000, posted by T-GRIP LLC NGM Insurance Company as Surety.

MOTION to Extend Time to Temporary Restraining Order by T-GRIP LLC.

Proposed Order

BRIEF in Support re [27] Motion to Extend Time filed by T-GRIP LLC.

Declaration of Keaton Smith

ORDER GRANTING MOTION 27 TO EXTEND, EXTENDING TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER, RESETTING FILING DEADLINES AND RESETTING SHOW CAUSE HEARING. Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 65 and for good cause shown, the Temporary Restraining Order ("TRO") previously entered in this action is extended to an including March 11, 2026. The show cause hearing previously set by Order is continued and is hereby reset for March 10, 2026 at 10:00 AM, via ZOOM. Responses to the show cause Order of the Defendants shall be filed by March 4, 2026 at 2 PM, and any replies from the Plaintiff shall be filed by March 6, 2026 at 2 PM. In all other respects the TRO and scheduling Orders previously entered by this Court remain in full force and effect. Signed by Judge Mark R. Hornak on 2/20/26. Text-only entry; no PDF document will issue. This text-only entry constitutes the Order of the Court or Notice on the matter.

Order on Motion to Extend Time

ORDER DIRECTING THE FILING OF A SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT BY THE PLAINTIFF AND THE PROVISION TO THE COURT VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL OF ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION. In consideration of the matters currently before the Court in this proceeding, including the Plaintiff's request for provisional injunctive and declaratory relief and other related submissions, it is ORDERED that not later than 48 hours prior to the commencement of any show cause or other hearing in this case relative to preliminary injunctive relief, Plaintiff shall supplement its filings via a single report filed on the docket and, in furtherance of the relief sought, such submission shall address the following: (1) Whether Plaintiff has previously brought any action, claim or proceeding in any court or tribunal against any named Defendant wherein Plaintiff sought to enforce the involved copyrights/trademarks/patents, identifying the tribunal, type of claim, and case number of any such action and advising the Court as to its current status; (2) For any such action identified in (1), state the number of Defendants currently enjoined by any form of equitable relief for alleged infringement or violation of the interest at issue in this action; and (3) To the extent the Plaintiff has sought, seeks or will seek authorization for alternative service of process or other papers, the Plaintiff shall file a statement of position as to the applicability of the reasoning in Smart Study, Co., No. 24-313, 2025 WL 3672740 (2d Cir. Dec. 18, 2025) to such request, and advise the Court how any Orders in this action should proceed so as to conform to applicable law. In the alternative, to the extent that the Plaintiff is not seeking alternative service the Plaintiff shall explicitly so state. Further, in such report, the Plaintiff shall supply the Court with information pertaining to: (a) the aggregate amount of assets frozen in this action pursuant to any Order of this Court; (b) the average dollar amount frozen per defendant in this action; (c) the smallest and largest amounts so frozen, along with the identities of those corresponding defendants; and (d) the identities of any defendant with cumulative assets frozen of $10,000 or greater, and the corresponding amount. Additionally, it is ORDERED that also no later than 48 hours prior to the commencement of any show cause or other hearing in this case relative to preliminary injunctive relief, Plaintiff shall file a final proposed order for injunctive relief on the docket. Plaintiff shall also send a copy of said order in a Word document via electronic mail to Hornak_Chambers@pawd.uscourts.gov. This Order supplements and supersedes any prior Order in this action directed to these matters. Signed by Judge Mark R. Hornak on 2/26/26. Text-only entry; no PDF document will issue. This text-only entry constitutes the Order of the Court or Notice on the matter.

PRAECIPE to Issue Summons by T-GRIP LLC

Summons

Summons Issued as to THE INDIVIDUALS, CORPORATIONS, LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANIES, PARTNERSHIPS, AND UNINCORPORATED ASSOCIATIONS IDENTIFIED ON SCHEDULE A TO THE COMPLAINT

NOTICE as to SHOW CAUSE HEARING. The SHOW CAUSE HEARING set for Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at 10:00 AM will be conducted via Zoom video conference. The Plaintiff shall give notice and provide service of this Order to all remaining Defendants in conformity with this Court's previous Orders authorizing service. The Plaintiff shall file Certificates of Service upon completion of such service. Any person who wishes to participate in the hearing by Zoom must be a party to these actions. In order to participate, any non-individual party must be represented by an attorney who is admitted or capable of being admitted to practice before this Court, and any such attorney must enter an appearance on the appropriate docket. Alternatively, any party to these actions who is an individual natural person and who files, via the Court's CM/ECF system, formal notice on the appropriate docket, including an email at which they can be contacted, that they intend to represent themselves may participate in the Zoom hearing on their own behalf. Any entity or organization may be represented by legal counsel only, and a non-lawyer may represent themselves only. The Zoom information required to participate will be disseminated by email to parties who comply with these procedures for their use only. Public access to observe proceedings will be provided by other means. Participants are expected to join the Zoom conference at least fifteen (15) minutes early to provide time for admitting approved participants.

SUMMONS/Return of Service Returned Executed by T-GRIP LLC. THE INDIVIDUALS, CORPORATIONS, LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANIES, PARTNERSHIPS, AND UNINCORPORATED ASSOCIATIONS IDENTIFIED ON SCHEDULE A TO THE COMPLAINT served on 3/3/2026, answer due 3/24/2026.

Declaration of Keaton Smith

Schedule A

ORDER DIRECTING THE TRANSMITTAL OF VIDEO EVIDENCE. Plaintiff has filed an action accusing Defendants of violating Plaintiff's federally registered copyrights. The copyrights in question pertain to a video produced by Plaintiff and used to market their product. Plaintiff accuses Defendants of misappropriating certain still images captured from this promotional video to sell their own products. In relation to Plaintiff's request for provisional injunctive relief, Plaintiff bears the burden of showing a there is a substantial likelihood that Defendants' use of their copyright constitutes illegal copying by establishing the copyrighted work and the infringing work are "substantially similar." Tanksley v. Daniels, 902 F.3d 165, 171 (3d Cir. 2018). There can be no substantial similarity if the alleged copying is de minimis. See Prima v. Darden Restaurants, Inc., 78 F. Supp. 2d 337, 351 (D.N.J. 2000). Courts evaluating the substantial similarity of still images allegedly misappropriated from larger videos consider both the quantity of the entire video allegedly copied by the still images, as well as how distinctive the images are. See Eliahu v. Mediaite, LLC, No. 23 Civ. 11015, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 171689, at *6-7 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 23, 2024). A copy of the Plaintiff's full video is necessary for the Court to perform the evaluation in this case. Therefore it is ORDERED that Plaintiff will provide a copy of the full video the copyright of which is the subject of the present lawsuit via delivery to Chambers no later than 2:00 PM on 3/09/26. The Court will cause it to be filed on the record of the Court. Signed by Judge Mark R. Hornak on 3/6/26. Text-only entry; no PDF document will issue. This text-only entry constitutes the Order of the Court or Notice on the matter.

SUPPLEMENT by T-GRIP LLC to [30] Order.

Declaration of Shengmao Mu

Exhibit 1

AUDIO/VISUAL EXHIBIT(S) by T-GRIP LLC received. Physical media forwarded to chambers of Judge Hornak.

ORDER DIRECTING THE FILING OF FINAL PROPOSED ORDER FOR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF. The Court previously entered an Order 30 directing the Plaintiff to file a final proposed order for preliminary injunctive relief on the docket no later than 48 hours prior to the commencement of any show cause hearing. Now, less than 24 hours prior to such a hearing, no such proposed order has been filed. Therefore the Plaintiff is ORDERED to file such a proposed order in compliance with the Court's previous Order by 2:00 PM today, 3/9/26. Failure to comply with this Order may result in the cancellation of the Show Cause Hearing currently scheduled for 03/10/26. Signed by Judge Mark R. Hornak on 3/9/26. Text-only entry; no PDF document will issue. This text-only entry constitutes the Order of the Court or Notice on the matter.

Proposed Order Preliminary Injunction by T-GRIP LLC.

Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge Mark R. Hornak: Show Cause Hearing held via videoconference on 3/10/26. (Court Reporter: Amanda Williamson)

PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION ORDER. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendants, their officers, agents, servants, employees, attorneys, and all persons acting for, with, by, through, under, or in active concert with them be preliminarily enjoined and restrained from: a. using the Plaintiff's IP or any reproductions, infringing copies, or colorable imitations in any manner in connection with the distribution, marketing, advertising, offering for sale, or sale of any product that is not a genuine Plaintiff's product or not authorized by Plaintiff to be sold in connection with the Plaintiff's IP. AND IT IS FURTHER ORDERED as set forth herein. Signed by Judge Mark R. Hornak on 3/10/26.

Schedule A

ORDER DIRECTING PLAINTIFF TO FILE STATUS REPORT. Plaintiff's counsel shall file a Status Report on the matters relevant to this case within thirty (30) days of the date of this order, or sooner if there is a material development. In said status report, Plaintiff is directed to provide a factual basis as to whether and what amount of any of the monies frozen in Defendant's account(s) pursuant to any of this Court's Orders are specifically related to the alleged infringing conduct in the action at bar, and, if so, shall show cause why such amounts beyond those amounts should remain frozen by Order of this Court. Signed by Judge Mark R. Hornak on 3/10/26. Text-only entry; no PDF document will issue. This text-only entry constitutes the Order of the Court or Notice on the matter.

ORDER DIRECTING PARTIES TO FILE ALL DOCUMENTS ON THE COURT'S DOCKET. The Court hereby notifies all parties to the pending civil action that all statements of position, pleadings, motions, or requests for court action must be filed as such on the official Court docket. Electronic or other message to the Judge or Chambers will not be considered by the Court. The Court directs the parties to the following website in order to register to become an electronic filer: https://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/pscof/regWizard.jsf. Counsel for the Plaintiff shall transmit a copy of this Order to all Defendants by electronic means, forthwith. Signed by Judge Mark R. Hornak on 3/16/26. Text-only entry; no PDF document will issue. This text-only entry constitutes the Order of the Court or Notice on the matter.

Order

REQUEST by T-GRIP LLC for entry of DEFAULT against THE INDIVIDUALS, CORPORATIONS, LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANIES, PARTNERSHIPS, AND UNINCORPORATED ASSOCIATIONS IDENTIFIED ON SCHEDULE A TO THE COMPLAINT.

Proposed Order

Schedule A

Declaration of Keaton Smith

CLERK'S ENTRY OF DEFAULT as to All Defendants listed in Schedule A.

Schedule A